Showdown Looms As Zimbabwe Banks Reject Pay Rise Plea

HARARE – A Zimbabwean trade union said
Tuesday the country’s banks could be headed for a showdown with their 4 000
strong workforce, three weeks after they demanded an urgent pay hike meant to
ride over a crippling economic crisis.

The
Bank Employers Association of Zimbabwe (BEAZ) has turned down the request by
trade unions, arguing that the issue had been addressed by the National
Employment Council (NEC) earlier this year, according to correspondence seen by
ENN.

This
has raised the ire of the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union of Zimbabwe
(ZIBAWU), which said on Tuesday it was consulting its membership for the next
course of action.

Deputy
general secretary, Shephard Ngandu, said nationwide strike actions were
possible as workers were finding it “tough” to negotiate a rapidly
deteriorating economic climate in Zimbabwe, where annual inflation hit 66,80
percent in March, from 59,39 percent in February with rampant basic commodity
price hikes of up to 200 percent between October last year and April.

In his
letter to BEAZ, Mutasa said while bank workers had been awarded a pay hike in
January, sharp price increments had wiped out all the value.

He said
to secure the stability of the industry, an urgent meeting was imperative to
come up with new salary scales and benefits in line with economic dynamics.

“We
refer to (this) urgent issue in light of events unfolding in the economy which
have severely eroded the purchasing power of workers’ salaries,” Mutasa said.

“This
has resulted in workers facing financial hardships. Most families are now food
insecure, unable to pay fees, pay rentals and buy clothes. In short, the
economic situation has thrown banking sector workers into a serious poverty
trap. The increase we got in January was completely wiped out due to inflation
and other economic factors. We are in no doubt that employers are well aware of
the plight of workers and will treat this request as urgent. We hope this
meeting will be convened immediately to ensure continued stability and sound
industrial relations. We call for a collective bargaining session to negotiate
new rates of remuneration and benefits for employees in the sector,” he added.

However,
BEAZ said it was not prepared to discuss fresh wage hikes.

“Whilst
we acknowledge the changes in the economy, it is our considered view that the
NEC fully discharged its obligation to review salaries for the year as guided
by the framework SI 150 of 2013,” said BEAZ.

But
ZIBAWU said trade union leaders were determined to push for wage hikes.

“They
are kind of refusing to negotiate,” said Ngandu.

“So, we
are consulting our structures on the way forward but such response could lead
to countrywide actions as banking workers are finding the going tough,” he
warned.

Banks
are unlikely to give in to workers’ fresh demands for wage hikes in the face of
the deteriorating economic crisis that has been compounded by fuel shortages
and currency volatilities.

A
report in 2017 indicated that at least 2 000 workers had lost their jobs in the
banking sector over five years due to the economic turmoil.